1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of autogenous bone collection. More particularly, the present invention relates to a device for collecting autogenous bone from a surgical site and extruding the collected bone where desired.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Orthopedic or other surgical procedures involving bone often generate bone chips or particulates that may be harvested and used, for example by implanting the harvested bone back into the patient from which it was derived, as an autogenous graft material. Prior art bone and tissue collection systems are known which include a collection filter disposed in a suction line of the system. In such systems having the filter in the path of the only suction line, suction is removed from the surgical site while the filter medium and/or collected tissue is removed.
Despite some work in the area, there is a need for an autogenous bone collection system that permits the physician to selectively switch between a material capture mode and a material rejection mode without having to remove a bone capture filter from the suction line or from the housing assembly. There is additionally a need for a selective bone capture system wherein the bone capture filter may be removed without pausing the suction applied to the surgical site. There is a further need for a filter cartridge and bone delivery system that reduces the risk of contamination of the collected bone material.
There is also a need for a bone delivery system that accepts a filter cartridge from a filtering system and extrudes the bone material contained therein into the surgical site, even if the bone is highly compressed and dense. There is additionally a need for a delivery system that allows for accurate delivery of the bone tissue to the desired surgical site.
These objects, and others, are addressed by the present invention.